Text: “A pointed question: Can science study acupuncture?” https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/acupuncture#:~:text=Over%204%2C000%20scientific%20studies%20have,underlying%20causes%20of%20these%20symptoms. The linked article looks into the challenges of trying to answer questions regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture.
Text: “Abortion: What does overturn of Roe v Wade mean?” BBC News. Extract: “The US Supreme Court has opened the door for individual states to ban or severely restrict the ability for pregnant women to get abortions… the court has overturned that earlier ruling, effectively making it possible for states Read more…
Text: “The ‘CSI Effect’: Does It Really Exist?” https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/csi-effect-does-it-really-exist Extract: “Many attorneys, judges, and journalists have claimed that watching television programs like CSI has caused jurors to wrongfully acquit guilty defendants when no scientific evidence has been presented. The mass media quickly picked up on these complaints. This so-called effect was promptly Read more…
Text: “Quantum information theory: Quantum complexity grows linearly for an exponentially long time.” Sciencedaily.com. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220328150620.htm Summary from the website: “Physicists know about the huge chasm between quantum physics and the theory of gravity. However, in recent decades, theoretical physics has provided some plausible conjecture to bridge this gap and to Read more…
Text: Bruce Bower. Science News.”Vikings lived in North America by at least the year 1021.” https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vikings-north-america-date-newfoundland Extract: “Vikings inhabited North America exactly 1,000 years ago, a new study finds. Counting tree rings reveals that wooden objects previously found at an archaeological site on Newfoundland’s northern peninsula were made from trees Read more…
Tatsuo Horiuchi is an artist that uses Excel to create his artworks. The value of this mathematics-based type of art is open to debate. Some question the artistic merits of this kind of digital art but it is a question that seems difficult to answer.
Text: “Is scientific progress slowing? with James Evans (Ep. 88).” Big Brains. https://news.uchicago.edu/scientific-progress-slowing-james-evans Extract from the show notes: “There are far more scientists in today’s world, and they’re publishing research papers at a much faster pace. However, all of this growth hasn’t translated to more scientific progress. As University of Read more…
3. Is it better to “have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned” (adapted from Richard Feynman)? Discuss with reference to mathematics and one other area of knowledge. The “Is it better to…” part of November prescribed title #3 should not be overlooked. If you choose Read more…
Text: Gizmodo. “A creepy 15th century language experiment took place on this island.” https://gizmodo.com/a-creepy-15th-century-language-experiment-took-place-on-1484724484 Extract: “when [King James IV of Scotland] decided he wanted to find out what the “original” language of human beings was, he came up with an interesting experiment. He took two babies, and a woman who Read more…